Stan Mikita dies at 78

CHICAGO — When Stan Mikita got back together with the Chicago Blackhawks, it was clear how much the reconciliation meant to the Hall of Fame forward.

He became a team ambassador, and then got a bronze statue outside the United Center. He was a regular at home games, drawing loud cheers when he was shown on the videoboard, often with former teammate Bobby Hull right beside him.

“I was proud to wear the Indianhead uniform for 22 years,” Mikita said when he was honored before a 2008 home game.

The Blackhawks lost one of the most revered figures in franchise history when Mikita died Tuesday. The former captain, who helped Chicago to the 1961 Stanley Cup title, was 78.

Mikita’s family announced his death in a statement released by the team. No further details were provided, but he had been in poor health after being diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a progressive disease that causes problems with thinking, movement, behavior and mood.

“He was surrounded by his loving family whom he fiercely loved,” the family said in the statement.

Mikita spent his entire career with Chicago, beginning with his NHL debut in 1959 and running through his retirement after playing 17 games in the 1979-80 season. He is the Blackhawks’ career leader for assists (926), points (1,467) and games played (1,394), and is second to Hull with 541 goals.

Mikita remains the only NHL player in history to win the Art Ross (scoring champion), Hart (MVP) and Lady Byng (sportsmanship) trophies in the same season, and he accomplished the feat in consecutive years (1967-68). He became the first player to have his jersey retired by the Blackhawks in 1980, and was inducted into the hockey Hall of Fame three years later.

“Stan Mikita will be always remembered as a champion, an innovator and a master of the game,” team President John McDonough said. “He embodied the Chicago Blackhawks. His excellence is illustrated by the team records he still holds today.”

Mikita’s relationship with the Blackhawks deteriorated over time, but the franchise reached out to the former captain after longtime owner William Wirtz died in 2007 and his son, Rocky, took over the organization. The returns of Mikita and Hull were key moments in the transformation of the Blackhawks from one of the NHL’s worst franchises to its current place among the best-run organizations in sports.

“There are no words to describe our sadness over Stan’s passing,” Rocky Wirtz said. “He meant so much to the Chicago Blackhawks, to the game of hockey, and to all of Chicago.”